Hermes Ledger with Nick Samios

What's noise and what matters?

Restructuring in 2021: what’s just noise, and what demands our attention?

This week, host Nick Samios is joined by Stephen Hathway (Director at Helm Advisory, President of the AIIP) and Daren Anderson (Managing Director at ERA Legal) as they share engaging insights for "cutting through the noise" in 2021.

When M & A and corporate restructuring collide

Two narratives dominate the corporate landscape heading into 2021: the “insolvency cliff”, and “money on the sidelines”. Corporate distress will be up – it's just a question of by how much. 

And with official interest rates approaching zero, funds bursting with cash are yield hungry and looking for opportunities – what happens when these two narratives intersect? 

Joining us this week to discuss are Richard Hughes (Partner at Deloitte) and Tean Kerr (Partner at Lander & Rogers).

Asking: What's Risky?

Looking into the crystal ball of insurance markets – what’s on the cards for the near future? When insurers pull cover on risk categories or industry segments, we should ask: what do they know that we don’t? Plus, a look at the current wine industry. It is a manufacturing, exporting, agricultural and marketing business all rolled into one – what successful strategies are transferable to other industries? What are the developments in Australian import/export markets?

Joining us this week to discuss are Tony Sykes (Owner of General Insurance Brokers Australia, GIBA) and Peter McAtamney (Principal at Wine Business Solutions).

Getting the right "Talent Stack" for 2021

What's your "talent stack" going into 2021? If you are building your professional services/ finance career - or planning on pitching to raise capital for a business deal or to land a whale - do you have the goods? 

Join host Nick Samios as he puts these questions to special guests Alex Wilcox (Managing Director at Human Solutions Group) and Liam Bailey (Partner at O'Brien Palmer).

Ignore the mainstream spin – what’s the economy REALLY going to do 2021?

An economic twilight zone is upon us. The RBA says we are out of recession. Corporate insolvencies have declined sharply. Yet unemployment is up sharply year on year, and the RBA has seen the need to set official interest rates at historical lows.   

Something is seriously amiss, and the explanations we are receiving from our politicians and mainstream economists do not sit right. 

So this week we have social media’s go to economics analyst and philosopher - Principal of Digital Finance Analytics, Martin North, who will share his recent consumer and SME research and set this in the context of current monetary policy and future expectations. He says we need to stand back and really understand what is going on…

The case for a December middle-market corporate restructuring spike

The temporary COVID-19 safe harbour defence for directors from civil insolvent trading liability expires on the 31st of December. Ditto the temporary changes to the compliance period for statutory demand and bankruptcy notices. 

But what does that mean exactly? Must the directors of an insolvent business place the company into external administration before 31/12 in order to benefit from these protections? 

There are opposing views in the corporate restructuring community as to what the law says, what the law intends, and what is best for the broader business community. 

Does it even matter to SME owners who are “all in” one way or the other? What about middle-market firms where professional directors have everything to lose? 

Regardless, what will safe harbour look like in the 2021 - and what strategies should businesses start adopting now in preparation? How should “good companies” protecting themselves from “zombie” contagion assuming there is a “wall of insolvencies” coming? What will the role of voluntary administrator be in 2021? 

Join host Nick Samios as he puts these questions to special guests Ginette Muller (Partner at Hall Chadwick) and Warren Jiear (Partner at HWL Ebsworth).

Australian Manufacturing Redux: Who to champion, and how to fund them

This week, Nicholas Samios is joined by David Gandolfo (CAFBA President & Director at Quantum Business Finance) along with Gary Tescher (Managing Partner at Promentor) as they discuss financing the capital equipment needed to ramp up the manufacturing sector. What are the challenges for brokers & their clients? Where do the opportunities lie? Tune in to find out! We also had a special appearance from Tony Sykes (Owner of General Insurance Brokers Australia) on his recent article "How to Protect Your Manufacturing Business from These Important Risks".

Property Development Funding and Corporate Restructuring De-Brief

Tune in as Director & Fund Manager Nicholas Samios joins special guests Michael Corcoran (Director at Solido Capital) and Ryan Eagle (Partner at KPMG Australia). 

The spotlight is on property development and corporate restructuring, with special "Diggers & Dealers" insights from JP Equity Partners' Director Nicholas Brownbill.

Messing with Markets

So far, this year, the Covid crisis has given us interest rates heading for zero and anomalies in asset pricing: from used cars, to luxury property and…stocks? 

How does money printing and near-zero interest rates affect the fundamentals of corporate finance – debt vs. equity and business valuations? Why are luxury properties selling like hot-cakes, and why are used car values so high?

In this week's Lunch Money, we put these questions to Dr Paul Mazzola (Academic at University of Wollongong), along with Ian Hyman OAM (CEO at Hymans Valuers and Auctioneers) - tune in for more!

Is It Insane to Start a Business During Coronavirus?

With unemployment projected to reach crisis levels – can self-employment be part of the solution? 

This week, guest panellists Paul Nicoloau (Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry) and Steven Phelan (Fayetteville State University) share their insights on “boot-strapping” – starting a business with little or no capital. Is there an alternative to welfare? Should the government find ways to better encourage start-ups and encouraging job-creation? 

Don't forget to check out Steven's book "Start-up Stories: Lessons for Everyday Entrepreneurs" - available on Amazon and Kindle!